Dakar Rally 2020: an Arocs 4663 pulls more than 100 vehicles out of the sand

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Eight times eight is 100.

An Arocs also took part in one of the toughest rallies in the world, but it wasn’t in the actual competition. Its job: recovering stranded vehicles.


Twelve days, 7,500 kilometres, sand 75 per cent of the time – whoever takes part in the Dakar Rally needs nerves of steel and oodles of power. And whoever got stuck on the 42nd edition of the traditional rally could rely on one thing in particular – the Arocs 4663 AS 8x8/4.

Because the Arocs, with its special superstructure, took part outside the competition. Its team had a special job: no service or supply vehicle and no film team was to get left behind in the desert. With the Arocs 4663, Mercedes‑Benz Trucks lived up to the title “Masters of the Desert” once again. Neither sand and gravel nor heat and heavy loads could deter the all-wheel-drive vehicle.


Beast of the bivouac.

During the stages between the bivouacs – the overnight camps in the desert – the Arocs freed more than 100 stranded vehicles. The all-terrain Arocs 8x8 quickly earned its nickname: “Beast of the bivouac”. Even on the hardest terrain, the truck cut a fine figure with its power, robustness and efficiency. Here the team could above all profit from its Turbo Retarder Clutch. The system makes it possible to set off wear-free at full torque and delicately manoeuvre the truck without overheating the clutch – perfect for deployment in desert sand, which the Arocs and team managed without breaking down once.

From a basic camper van to a heavy truck, it helped free everyone that got bogged down. Sometimes the vehicles had sunk 20 centimetres down into the sand, and trailers with dozens of spare tyres were just as stuck as smaller, less off-road-savvy service vehicles. The softer the sand, the more the Arocs was in demand, sometimes dozens of times in the span of just a few hours.


On the road, the team was once even pulled over by the police. They hadn’t done anything wrong – the officers were simply impressed with the Arocs and wanted to take some photos of the “beast”. It’s no wonder at all with such an impressive truck.



JIPCO – partner and supplier.

As the official partner and supplier of Dakar 2020, Mercedes‑Benz Trucks provided the Arocs 8x8 through Juffali Industrial Products Company (JIPCO). JIPCO is an authorised general sales partner for Mercedes‑Benz Trucks in Saudi Arabia.

www.jipco.com.sa


Photos and video: Daimler/A.S.O. FOTOP/G. Epifanio

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